Thunder like Light to Memories
by Keyboardmurderer
Summary: Tetra doesn't know if she's more terrified of the thunderstorm gracing her ship at the moment, reminding her all too much of the battle just endured, or of losing her most-likely best friend in his own thoughts. The kid barely speaks anyway.


"Please, Link."

The tone in her voice made ignoring her so much more difficult for the young hero. He sat there, bent into the curve of the ship with his nimble arms crossed over his knees. The Hero of Winds was thankful for the heavy rain that fell onto the huge pirate ship, it seemed to hide the tears he knew would fall at any second.

Especially if she asked him once more.

Thunder shook the night sky, and a blue flash of light splayed in the starry fabric like a dangerous and frightening dancer.

Princes- Tetra flinched as soon as she heard the roar, and Link understood- it was weather like this in which they both conquered the evil Demon King, Ganondorf. The sky boomed again, and it did not surprise Link as Tetra rushed to greet him out in the rain. It made sense that after such an intense display of trust, she'd confine in him more than her own shelter.

He returned the favor, after all.

At first the young pirate captain kept her distance from the young boy. Keen as she was, she did not know how to confront him about such a loss- even if she was, in fact, related to the King, she knew him so little.

Link had attached himself to his companion, something Tetra sadly knew was going to end badly.

"Come inside. Please." She pleaded through shivers, but if Link heard, he ignored his friend. Through the gaps in his wet blonde hair, she could see his lip, still badly cut from the fresh battle that seemed so long ago, quiver violently from either cold or crying. She wanted so badly to hug him, knowing he was one to display affection. But the Hero she knew- who seemed so defenseless in comparison to the Link she witnessed battle, just brought his arms around himself tighter, and turned his head away from her.

"It's sad," Started the young lady, pinching a piece of her stray curls down. "I was actually related to him. I had his blood running through my veins. I should be the one speaking to no one. Yet here I was, drinking with my boys, celebrating a victory only won through his sacrifice. It's pathetic. I'm pathetic. And ungrateful." Tetra cringed as another roar of thunder struck her ear drums, and as if on cue, Link closed the distance between them with a comforting hug. He kept his head down, but now instead of in his arms, he props it up onto his friends shoulder.

She could feel the warm wetness of his tears against her freezing skin. He rubbed her back gently, knowing the thunder scared her more than he, and she had more time to process the battle as it happened, while Link was thrown into it. The situation was one he happily remembered little of, other than that Tetra- Zelda- was there with him, fighting by his side.

"How ironic," mused the young pirate, now laughing through her own tears. "I'm supposed to be comforting you, yet it seems it's the other way around, yeah?" The hero doesn't answer, and honestly, Tetra is content with it. She brings her arms around the shivering boy.

"Hey, kid?" She rests her head on his, the wetness in the fabric of his long green hat making it stick to her cheek. "He did a good thing. And he did it for us. I didn't ask for him to do it, neither did you. He wanted to save us. He wanted to be the sacrifice." She listened for any signs of acknowledgment, and when her friend finally nodded, she brought her hand up to pet his matted hair.

"He was a good man, that King guy. I liked him. And he really liked you. I kinda think he wanted you to be the heir, honestly." Link chuckled, and Tetra was so pleased with herself that she almost didn't hear the roar of another thunder wave.

But her kid was fine now. He'd be fine forever with her, too- it's a promise. She'd make sure that no one he cared for would get hurt again, from his sister to his grandmother, right down to that little tree thing- Mako?

"He did it so all of us could live- Aryll, your gran, Makito-"

"Makaar." Link stutters out, and for a moment, Tetra forgets how to be the sassy, ambitious, comforting pirate she always liked to call herself. But her smile breaks so wide her eyes stop watering from the pressure of her cheeks pushed up.

"Ahh. Okay."

"…Can we go inside?"

"Oh thank Farore- yes."


End file.
